Tom Vale’s Demo

In class on Monday, Tom Vale visited the class.  He showed off four devices that use energy. They were the Peltier Device, Sterling Engine, Barbecue lighter, and the Mendicine Motor.

Peltier Device

-1834

-Uses two dissimilar metals. One side uses hot water, the other cold water.

-It is used in cars and is about 10% efficient.

Sterling Engine

-1816 by Robert STerling

-Eliminates steam engines

-It is about 60% efficient

Barbecue Lighter

-Goes from Mechanical to Electrical energy

-Pizo electrical effect

Mendicine Motor

-DC motor theory

 

MIT Nuclear Reactor

CONTROL ROOM

BUILDING

 

The MITR-II design uses finned plate-type fuel arranged in a hexagonal pattern of rhomboid fuel assemblies. Power is controlled by 6 manual boron-stainless steel blade-type control Rods and one aluminum with cadmium control rod which can be placed on automatic control. Light water flows upwards through the core and a tank of heavy water surrounds the core. A wall of dense concrete that serves as shielding surrounds the tank of heavy water. The maximum coolant temperature is 55 degrees Celsius. The light water and heavy water are cooled through forced circulation through heat exchangers; secondary coolant is cooled in two cooling towers.

The reactor uses highly enriched uranium fuel, in the form of uranium-aluminum cermet with aluminum cladding.

Refueling takes place 3 to 4 times every year. A single refueling consists of rearranging the assemblies in the core or a combination of rearranging and replacement of old assemblies with new ones. This is more frequent than both nuclear power plants, which may go 17 to 23 months between refueling outages when they rearrange the entire core and replace 1/3 to 1/2 of the core, and most research reactors, many of which go decades without refueling due to the high energy density of nuclear fuel and infrequent use at high power levels.

The MITR research program encompasses most aspects of neutron science and engineering including nuclear medicine. Some of activities are: fission engineering, materials testing, training, and Boron neutron capture therapy.

Solar Energy Experiment

On Monday, we conducted an experiment that focused on solar energy. We ran a series of tests to gauge the voltage vs. distance. Then we ran tests with different colored film to see how much voltage got through the film onto the solar panel. The distances we used as a group ranged from 0-5 inches. The closer the light was to the solar panel, the higher the voltage was. As the  distance grew, the voltage became smaller. The three colored films we used were blue, pink, and teal. You would think there would be less voltage when we used the blue compared to the teal, but the average voltage of the blue was much higher than the teal.

 

No Light 0 Inches 0.537 2 Inches 0.38304 3 Inches 0.35738 4 Inches 0.34455 5 Inches 0.16493
-0.02752 0.52417 0.46002 0.44719 0.39587 0.24191
-0.02752 0.44719 0.37021 0.35738 0.30606 0.21625
0.03663 0.49851 0.38304 0.37021 0.38304 0.16493
0.01097 0.52417 0.35738 0.42153 0.37021 0.16493
0.06229 0.537 0.4087 0.44719 0.33172 0.22908
0.06229 0.46002 0.44719 0.46002 0.2804 0.16493
0.04946 0.49851 0.37021 0.42153 0.35738 0.1521
0.01097 0.52417 0.37021 0.39587
Average 0.022196 0.505638 0.394444 0.4087 0.346154 0.187383
Blue (No Distance) 0.43436 Pink (No Distance) 0.51134 Teal (No Distance) 0.35738
0.38304 0.4087 0.37021
0.38304 0.4087 0.42153
0.42153 0.46002 0.35738
0.46002 0.43436 0.38304
0.43436 0.43436 0.39587
0.46002 0.51134
0.46002 0.46002
Average 0.429549 0.453605 0.380902
Voltage vs Filter Color
Blue (No Distance) 0.44425 Voltage vs Distance of Light from Cell
Pink (No Distance) 0.458951 0 Inches 0.505638
Teal (No Distance) 0.379298 2 Inches 0.394444
3 Inches 0.4087
4 Inches 0.346154
5 Inches 0.187383  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Energy Experiment

A vs. M Speed (RPM) Battery Discharge Mass Power Time (s) Acceleration (RPM/s)
82.53205 41 0.25 75 3.328 24.79929
55.83304 28 0.25 75 2.803 19.91903
77.23773 27 0.23 75 2.078 37.16926
74.25821 42 0.21 75 2.112 35.16014
A vs. P 78.15261 56 0.19 75 2.075 37.66391
78.15261 56 0.19 75 2.075 37.66391
115.8604 41 0.19 100 1.509 76.77959
13.11666 0 0.19 25 11.169 1.174381
Mass Acceleration (RPM/s) Power level Acceleration
0.25 19.91903 75 37.66391
0.23 37.16926 100 76.77959
0.21 35.16014 25 1.174381
0.19 37.66391
 

 

Power Mass Height g mgh
75 0.25 0.31 9.8 0.7595
75 0.23 0.3 9.8 0.6762
75 0.19 0.29 9.8 0.53998
Time MGH/TIME Battery Discharge
100 0.25 0.31 9.8 0.7595 1 0.7595
50 0.25 0.31 9.8 0.7595 0.5 1.519
 

 

 

 

In this experiment, we used a pully made my Lego to learn about energy. the basis of the experiment were Newton’s Laws of Motion. We did two experiments, one looking at Acceleration vs. Mass and another with Acceleration and Power. The first experiment we kept the power constant while decreasing the mass. We found out that as you decrease the mass, it would take less time for the pully to reach the top, but it also used less speed. In the second experiment we would change the power and keept the mass constant. We found out that if you increase or decrease power it would affect the acceleration by increasing with the increase in power and decreasing with the decrease of power. We do not think about motion and analyze it every day. Our society is so fast paced that we do not have time to think about it. After doing this experiment, I have grown an appreciation for what Sir Isaac Newton did.

25 0.25 0.31 9.8 0.7595 0.25 3.038  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demand Response

There are three types of demand response – emergency demand response, economic demand response and ancillary services demand response. Emergency demand response is employed to avoid involuntary service interruptions during times of supply scarcity. Economic demand response is employed to allow electricity customers to curtail their consumption when the productive or convenience of consuming that electricity is worth less to them than paying for the electricity. Ancillary services demand response consists of a number of specialty services that are needed to ensure the secure operation of the transmission grid and which have traditionally been provided by generators.

Current demand response schemes are implemented with large and small commercial as well as residential customers, often through the use of dedicated control systems to shed loads in response to a request by a utility or market price conditions. Services are reduced according to a preplanned load prioritization scheme during the critical time frames. An alternative to load shedding is on-site generation of electricity to supplement the power grid. Under conditions of tight electricity supply, demand response can significantly decrease the peak price and, in general, electricity price volatility.

Demand response is generally used to refer to mechanisms used to encourage consumers to reduce demand, thereby reducing the peak demand for electricity. Since electrical generation and transmission systems are generally sized to correspond to peak demand, lowering peak demand reduces overall plant and capital cost requirements. Depending on the configuration of generation capacity, however, demand response may also be used to increase demand at times of high production and low demand. Some systems may thereby encourage energy storage to arbitrage between periods of low and high demand.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/category/demand-response/

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/demand-response.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand_response

 

 

 

Wheel Rotation Experiment

During class, we built a robot using Lego’s. We used a program called labview to run tests on the robot. We measured the diameter of the wheel first, which came out to 5.5 cm. Once we figured that, we multiplied the 5.5 cm by 3.14 then divided by 100, which came to .1727 and that was the circumference of the wheel. We ran three tests  all at different power. The first was at 75 and the time was for one second. The distance traveled was .58 cm with a number of rotations of 3. The second test was at a power of 50 for one second and the robot traveled a distance of 38.5 cm, with a number of rotations of 2. The third test had a power of 25 and the robot traveled .17 cm for one second. We compared the three tests to what the labview program shot out and with any experiment there will always be a margin of error.

In doing this experiment is was very interesting to put a robot together and figure out distance and velocity. It  brought back some childhood memories while working with Lego’s. I have had some previous experience taking Physics during my Senior year of high school.

BP Spill

“President Obama has called the BP oil spill “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced,” and so has just about everyone else.”The Deepwater Horizon explosion was also an awful tragedy for the 11 workers on rig. It has caused serious economic and psychological damage to the surrounding communities that depend on fishing, tourism, and drilling. The main question that is being asked, is whether or not BP can gain their sustainability back. The tragedy that is being compared to the situation is the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska 21 years ago.

 

“Marine scientist Ivor van Heerden, another former LSU prof, who’s working for a spill-response contractor, says, “There’s just no data to suggest this is an environmental disaster. I have no interest in making BP look good — I think they lied about the size of the spill — but we’re not seeing catastrophic impacts.”

“The Marshall Islands, where Transocean Ltd registered the doomed Deepwater Horizon rig, also said in a report on its investigation that failure to follow well abandonment plans approved by U.S. regulators played a part.The report did not specifically blame any of the companies involved, from well owner BP and driller Transocean to blowout preventer maker Cameron International Corp and well-sealing cement maker Halliburton.”

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/17/us-bp-oilspill-report-idUSTRE77G6A520110817

In the summer of 2010, the oil was easy to spot. You could scoop the oil out with a fishing net. But now, a year later, the remains of the oil spill is harder to find.” Of that roughly 200 million gallon river of oil, government scientists estimate that 29 percent of it dispersed, 25 percent of it was recovered or burned off, 23 percent of it evaporated or dissolved. That leaves 23 percent – roughly 46 million gallons – that reached shore or stayed in the water.”

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/19/eveningnews/main20055447.shtml